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8 best cutlery sets to jazz up your table

Utensils worth forking out for

Alicia Miller
Tuesday 01 February 2022 14:07 GMT
<p>Everyone deserves to have a table setting straight out of one of London’s finest restaurants</p>

Everyone deserves to have a table setting straight out of one of London’s finest restaurants

A great cutlery set is essential. But beyond the basic practicalities, it can add real pizzazz to your table. As wide-ranging in style as frocks or trainers, it’s a way to show off your sense of taste and nose for trends. After all, everyone deserves to have a table setting straight out of one of London’s finest restaurants.

When choosing the best set for you, you’ll want to consider style, of course. It’s a personal thing. Not just what you like, but also: what’s going to match with your plates? Your existing colour scheme? Your lifestyle? You need to consider the longevity versus price point equation too.

Classic polished flatware is never going to go out of fashion, and can be enjoyed for years and years – but it can be expensive. Alternatively, black, gold and colourful cutlery sets are bang on-trend, bringing a fresh feel to your spread. But not all may be suitable for the long haul.

Weight and shape are also major factors. Round, smooth bases are easy for little hands to grip, while flatter, heavier ranges will suit a grown-up household. Knives should feel smooth to cut with, without being sharp to the touch; forks should skewer food with ease, without being dangerously prickly.

Finally, when choosing your perfect cutlery set, you’ll want to consider your clean-up habits. Some delicate sets require more care to maintain their sheen, via hand-washing in warm soapy waters and immediate drying. Others are the bang-around-and-throw-in-the-dishwasher sort. Both have their place; just be sure to check out the creds before you buy, to avoid frustration later.

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How we tested

When testing our best cutlery sets, we looked for ones that provided good value for money and were fit for purpose. We’ve included ranges of all different sizes, because everyone is unique – you may be looking for a set for a student flat or a 32-piece kit for a big family. Most will let you scale up or down to suit your needs.

The only qualification we put in place? Each range had to have at least the three essential eating tools to be considered: a fork, knife and dessert spoon.

The best cutlery sets for 2022 are:

  • Best overall – Viners savoy 18/10 16pce cutlery set gift box: £60.50, Viners.co.uk
  • Best trendy set – Salter 16 piece marble gold stainless steel cutlery set: £40, Freemans.com
  • Best for families – Emma Bridgewater polka dot set of 16 cutlery: £100, Emmabridgewater.co.uk
  • Best classic set – Robert Welch stanton 7pc place setting cutlery gift set: £39.99, Lakeland.co.uk
  • Best vintage vibe – Cotswolds Company arden: From £5 per item, Cotswoldco.com
  • Best for eating on the go – WakeCup zero waste cutlery set: £15, Globalwakecup.co.uk
  • Best for bold table settings – Colourful 16 pcs stainless steel cutlery set: £13.69, Onbuy.com
  • Best for mixing and matching – Asda George pastel cutlery set 16 piece: £13, Asda.com

Viners savoy 18/10 16pec cutlery set gift box

Viners savoy 18:10 16pec cutlery set gift box.jpg

Best: Overall

Rating: 10/10

It’s the perfect balance: good old-fashioned quality, but with contemporary style. Heritage brand Viners makes this cutlery set from 18/10 stainless steel and polishes it to a mirror-like sheen that stays gleaming wash after wash. Dishwasher safe and rust resistant, it’s the kind of set you can use every day for years on end. Or at least Viners promises as much – it’s not for nothing that it comes with a whopping 50-year guarantee. Pretty good given that each fork, knife and spoon costs less than £4 each.

There’s a nice, solid weight to the Savoy range, one of the newer ranges in Viners’s arsenal. Good balance, too. And, of course, style. This 16-piece set – with four forks, knives, dessert spoons and tea spoons – has a contemporary vibe with its ergonomic shape, and reminds us a bit of cutlery we’ve seen in sleek Scandi eateries. Yet it’s still subtle and timeless enough to match with a variety of plates, glasses and decors. Which is a good thing. After all, the whole point of an investment set is that it should be something you love using, year after year.

  1. £60 from Viners.co.uk
Prices may vary
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Salter 16 piece marble gold stainless steel cutlery set

Salter 16 piece marble gold stainless steel cutlery set.jpg

Best: Trendy set

Rating: 8/10

Salter has been in business for over 260 years, and is one of the big names in British kitchenware – so, obviously, they know cutlery. And when you pick up any piece in this two-tone set, you’ll feel the quality. That’s not to say it’s overly heavy, as many premium sets are. One of the slimmest and most elegant ranges we tested, marble gold is a particularly good pick for the petite-handed diners among us.

The handle pattern, with its black base and flecks of gold, is designed to mimic dark marble, but it reminds us more of a starry night sky: perfect for bringing out-of-this-world flair to mealtimes. Striking the balance between trendy and classic, Salter’s cutlery set feels like one you can have for years.

So long as you don’t mind hand-washing: you’ll need to scrub ‘em up with warm soapy water after use, as they aren’t recommended for the dishwasher. In other words, keep them for dinner parties, when you can serve ‘em up on a white tablecloth backdrop to really let those metallic hints pop.

  1. £40 from Freemans.com
Prices may vary
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Emma Bridgewater polka dot set of 16 cutlery

Emma Bridgewater polka dot set of 16 cutlery.jpg

Best: For families

Rating: 9/10

There’s just something mood-brightening about Emma Bridgewater’s designs, especially her signature polka dots. Whether you’re diving into a weekend brunch or dishing up a bowlful of spaghetti bolognese to the kids, the colourful handles add a distinct air of fun to dining hour.

Rounded and easy to grip, those handles are perfect for little hands to use, too. The teaspoons in this four-place set – along with the included forks, knives and generously-sized dessert spoons – will prove priceless again and again when feeding children. They’re even dishwasher safe. Basically, the polka dot set is the very definition of family-friendly, everyday cutlery. What’s not to love?

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Robert Welch stanton 7pc place setting cutlery gift set

Robert Welch stanton 7pc place setting cutlery gift set.jpg

Best: premium classic

Rating: 9/10

You get what you pay for with cutlery. And Robert Welch, while on the slightly pricier end of the spectrum, goes to prove it. Made with 18/10 stainless steel – the finest grade available – and with a hefty weight, this cutlery makes dining feel like a luxurious experience, no matter what you’re eating. Robert Welch builds cutlery to last too, furnishing each set with a 25-year guarantee. We have another set by the brand that’s we’ve used for well over 10 years, and it’s still going strong.

We love the smooth, ergonomic curves of the Stanton collection – each piece is so comfortable to hold, you won’t mind downing a 12-course feast. The knife cuts like a dream; the fork prongs with finesse. We also love that each place setting comes with seven pieces, perfect for when you’re serving up multiple dishes or sides. In addition to the standard fork, knife, dessert spoon and tea spoon, you’ll get a side knife, side fork and soup spoon. Finally, because it’s sold by the place setting, you can buy exactly as many as you need – to suit one, two or even a dozen diners.

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Cotswolds Company arden

Cotswolds Company arden.jpg

Best: Vintage vibe

Rating: 8/10

Looking to channel vintage, country-chic vibes in your kitchen? This brushed metal cutlery range, inspired by the bucolic charm of the Cotswolds, ticks the boxes. Deliberately distressed, its elegantly worn exterior and broad, fanned base would look perfectly at home on any rustic wooden table. Even if you’re just dining in a London flat, rather than some airy barn-conversion kitchen.

As for performance, Arden is a crowd-pleaser. With a knife that’s not too sharp – though smooth-cutting – this is a good pick for families with older children. Meanwhile, that broad, flat base gives plenty to grip onto. Large-handed folk might especially like the feel of it, in comparison to some of the daintier sets listed here.

Strictly speaking, of course, this cutlery isn’t a set – you buy each tool (fork, knife and spoon) in the range separately. But, of course, that means you get exactly what you need. You can just as easily order a place setting for two as you could for ten, making it especially good for couples, students and large families.

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WakeCup zero waste cutlery set

WakeCup zero waste cutlery set.jpg

Best: For eating on the go

Rating: 7/10

Disposable cutlery – whether plastic or wood – while convenient, isn’t great for the planet. And when it comes to picnics, takeaways or office lunches al desko (remember those?), things always taste better when eaten with proper cutlery. But you’re hardly going to lug a metal set along with you to munch that Pret. So, enter, this easy-to-tote kit from WakeCup.

Made from smooth bamboo – a sustainable, renewable material – this ultra-lightweight set comes wrapped up in a little cotton pouch, easy to pop into your handbag or backpack for munching on the go. It has everything you need for mobile feasting: not just fork, knife and spoon, but also chopsticks, steel straw and straw cleaner too.

If we’re being fussy, we wouldn’t have minded a slightly deeper spoon, but on the whole these are handy: and a definite cut above disposable kit. Need one more reason to buy? Ten percent of profits are donated to the Marine Conservation Society, which campaigns against plastic pollution.

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Colourful 16 pcs stainless steel cutlery set

Colourful 16 pcs stainless steel cutlery set.jpg

Best: For bold table settings

Rating: 8/10

OK, so maybe this isn’t “forever” cutlery. But if you’re looking for something fun and frivolous – for parties, say, or to convince picky little eaters that mealtimes are fun – this iridescent set adds a dash of wow-factor to your table. It’s a bargain too: under a tenner for four-place collection, including knives, forks, tablespoons and dessert spoons. That’s about 50p per piece.

Under that eye-catching rainbow sheen this cutlery set is made from 100 per cent stainless steel, so it’s built to take a bit of a knocking. And, unlike so many other novelty ranges, they’re dishwasher safe – so you needn’t haul out the rubber gloves every time you dive a spoon into a bowlful of soup or run a knife through lasagne. That means you can genuinely use them for every meal. Which means every meal can be a party.

  1. £13 from Onbuy.com
Prices may vary
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Asda George pastel cutlery set 16 piece

Asda George pastel cutlery set 16 piece.jpg

Best: For mixing and matching

Rating: 7/10

Pretty in pink – and purple, yellow and green – this colourful pastel set from George Home is a mix-and-match joy that lets you bring a different look to your table every day. With four place settings – one in each shade – you can colour block by giving your diners their own signature hue. Or mix ‘em all up, creating an eclectic, kaleidoscopic vibe. There are no rules, and whatever you do looks good. Basically, it’s the closest that cutlery arrangement comes to art class.

Dishwasher-safe, this cutlery set is light and the bases are made of plastic, which means you can throw ‘em around a little bit – ideal if you’ve got kids dining. On the other hand, they’re slightly less comfy to grip than some of others, so give them a miss when you’re enjoying elaborate seven-course dinners. And if you don’t use them every day, don’t feel bad about it. For £13 for four forks, knives, dessert spoons and teaspoons, this set is a bargain even with just occasional use.

  1. £13 from Asda.com
Prices may vary
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Cutlery FAQs

What is included in a cutlery set?

Just like anything, cutlery sets differ in design, price and number of pieces. Depending on the size of your family, or the number of guests you’re having over, you need to double-check you buy the right sized set to accommodate everyone.

A typical 16-piece set includes everything for four people: four butter knives, four forks, four tablespoons and four teaspoons.

A full 24-piece set includes everything for six people: six butter knives, six forks, six tablespoons and six teaspoons.

A traditional 28-piece set includes formal dining tableware for four people: four formal dinner knives, four formal dinner forks, four tablespoons, four dessert knives, four dessert forks, four dessert spoons and four teaspoons.

The verdict: Cutlery sets

When it comes to the all-important style, quality and price-point intersection, Viners’s savoy range is a top buy. With a 50-year guarantee, you know this cutlery set will be around for the long-haul. And yet it’s both affordable and current for everyday use right now.

When it comes to trendier buys that will dress up your table in style, Salter hits the mark with its marble gold range. The black and metallic handle feels on-point and sleek, but there’s still quality lurking beneath. All at a very fair price point, too.

Finally, if you’re buying for a family, Emma Bridgewater’s classic polka dot set works a treat. Hands of all sizes can grip the smooth bases with ease, and the colourful look brings fun to any table. And if you can’t have fun at mealtime, when can you?

Voucher codes

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Check out our review of the best dining tables to serve dinner with style

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